N.A.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to toy dolls, and particularly to brightly colored toy xe2x80x9calienxe2x80x9d dolls incorporating speech synthesis electronics and removably housed within correspondingly colored egg-shaped containers.
2. Description of the Background Art
Toy dolls provide children with countless hours of amusement and fun. For example, xe2x80x9cBARBIE(copyright)xe2x80x9d dolls and accessories manufactured by Mattel, Inc. have enjoyed widespread and substantial sales success over a large number of years. Dolls such as the BARBIE(copyright) doll provide children with enjoyable toys that stimulate the imagination.
Toy dolls are available in many forms including, human form, animal form, action figures, fantasy creatures and the like. Furthermore, most individuals familiar with the background art relating to toy dolls are familiar with well known dolls such as G.I. Joe, Elmo, Barney, Sebastian the Ibis, Big Bird, and Winney the Pooh, just to name a few. Other examples of toy dolls are shown in the following. U.S. Patents: U.S. Pat. No. 2,433,540 (Humpty Dumpty doll). U.S. Pat. No. 3,520,078, issued to Klamer, discloses a multicharactered toy having interchangeable parts and including an egg-shaped housing wherein individual parts can be stored. U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,936, issued to Matsuda, discloses a spring-powered toy contained within a divisible housing, which housing divides thereby allowing a windup toy character to emerge. U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,831, issued to Wolff, discloses a doll device including an egg-shaped outer housing within which is contained one or more dolls. Each doll comes with a story sheet(s) which details events in the life of the doll, and particularly, that event depicted on the painted face of the housing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,345, issued to Haugabook, discloses a combination storage and display unit comprising an egg-shaped housing and a doll sized to fit within the housing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,894, issued to Nelson et al., discloses a doll housed within an invertable container. The containers disclosed by Nelson et al. include a cupcake configuration, a garbage can configuration, and a redwood basket configuration.
Accordingly, there remains an endless need for distinctive fantasy toy dolls to amuse and entertain children while stimulating the imagination.
The present invention comprises a series of brightly colored toy dolls and correspondingly colored egg enclosure for selectively housing the dolls. The toy dolls and egg enclosures are integral elements in a fictional story about the alien world, GAM, as described in a series of literary works that provide background information on an alien world and the inhabitants thereof. According to the legend and fantasy story revealed in the corresponding written materials, the egg-shaped housings provided a transport vehicle in which the alien babies were transported through space from a planet GAM., facing imminent destruction, to Earth. The written materials accompany each toy doll and egg-shaped enclosure and include various certificates whereby purchasers of the dolls may register the purchase and obtain a xe2x80x9cbirth certificatexe2x80x9d. In addition, the written materials include colorful illustrations that, in combination with the text, provide information and a fictitious history in the form of childrens"" books. The is written materials also include a dictionary, entitled the Gamish Language Dictionary, that allows the user to translate the language spoken by the dolls via speech synthesis electronics.
The present invention primarily relates to functional and ornamental aspects of toy dolls and the egg-shaped enclosures therefor. In the preferred embodiment, the toy dolls generally resemble human babies except that the dolls are brightly colored (e.g. pink, gold, blue, silver, green, etc.) in that the dolls clothing and skin are a uniform single color. In addition, each doll includes a mirror-like reflecting surface affixed to the doll""s abdomen region for reasons further discussed herein below. Furthermore, each doll includes speech synthesis electronics that provide the doll with synthesized speech output capability.
The brightly colored dolls are initially housed within correspondingly colored egg-shaped housings that have a removable portion for allowing one to open the egg and remove the doll. According to the legend revealed in the corresponding written materials, the egg-shaped housings provided the vehicle in which the alien babies were transported through space from the planet GAM to Earth.